Electric furnace.



I. MOSCICKI. ELECTRIC FURNACE. APPucmoN msn MAY 29, ma.

Patented Oui. 1T, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I. MOSCICKI. ELECTRIC FURNACE. APPLICATION msn MAY 29, 1913* 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented. Oct. 17, 1916.

I. MUSCICKI.

ELECTRIC FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29. |913.

1,201 ,607. A Patented Out. 17, 1916.

3 SHEETS`SHEET 3.

IGNACY MOSCICKI. OF LEMBERG. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

ELECTRIC FURNACE.

1,2m .oor

Application filed May 29,1913.

To m'/ fc/mm ii may concer/z.'

lle il linown that l. Vloxaov )loan-nl. a snhject ol' the liniperor of Mistria-l lnnganv. and residing at liemlierg, .\ustria-llungaev, have invented certain new and uwl'ul lnipro\en|cut in llectric Furnacea. of which the following is' a specification.

A\[ v invention relates to an electric for nare having a rotating llame for treating gaat and vapors.

ln known electric furnaces` wherein a. llame `Supplied with alternating current rolates` under the influence of a magnetic lield` that reignition olthe llame which is necesmiry at each reversal of the current usnally occurs at that place at which the llame was located at the moment inst previous to its extinction and at which a moment afterward there will still he ionized gases. lt often happens. however, that just at the moment the current has its zero value the ionized gast4 are exiiellcd nnder the influence of a surge ol gas. and reignition of' the flame then heroines an exceedingly troublesome. matter.- ln order nevertheless to maintain the furnace in continual operation, it is necessary to employ a higher voltage and to work witl a larger phase displacement than would he required did this phenmnenon not occur. and consequently the Current is utilized in a very disadvantage-eue manner.

vIt has already been proposed to provide one electrode with a tongue or lug. whereby the distance between the electrodes is diminished at one place in the reaction chamber, and at this place the reformation of the flame is favored, but this tongue or lug has the disarlvantage that the flame remainsl too long at this` place 4of nearest approach of the electrodes as compared with the period of' one alternation. It has however heen impossible in practice to increase the intellsity of the field under whoseinfluence the llame rotates sufficiently to drive the flame, each time it forms. quickly enough from the ignition tongue. Consequently a dillicnlty arose in maintaining a large load in the furnace, because as long as the llame iS short the fall of potential across it is smallerthan when the flame is extended to`its normal length.

A primary ohject of my invention is to ohviate the above defects and to provide a furnace wherein the formation of surges of Specilication o Letters Patent.

Patented Urt. I T, |916. sei-iai No. 170,676.

'gz-h hin` no detrimental inllnenl'e on the reiguition ol lhe llame. and wherein there are none ol the diwidmnlag'e rehnlling l'l'oln emploi ing a longue. i l

Several ill||.`trali\e enihodinienh ol' inv inwntion are reprewnted h v way olA evaniple in the accom;rioting drawing. whereiu:

Figure l is a `wrtional elemtion \howing one l'orln of' in v improved l'urnace. and Fig. is a ei-tion tall'en on the line lll in ["ig. 1: Vig. Il is a wctional elevation Showing a `'eeond forni ol' furnace, and Fig. lis a detail \ie\\' relating tothe ahove liornlS: Fig. 3 is a Sectional elevation showing a portion ol a third l'orni of furnace: Figa. and T are wrtional elevation and plan` respectively showing u portion of the elet?- trodes in a lourth l'orln of furnace, and Figs. S and il are lili'e views of parts of a ifth form of furnace.

Referring to the drawings. the reactionchamber l (Fig. l) is connected helow with a conical Supply-chamher 2 which increases in diameter downwardly and receives thegases from the supply pipe 3. At the junction hetween the two clnnnhcrs. e'. e. where the gases: from the supply-chamher enter the reaction-chamher. the wall of the former chamller ha` an annular edge 13. To the top ot' the react'ioirclunnher l is connected the cooling duct l-` through which the gases pam4 to the dischin'gwpipe 5. Both the reaction-chandler and coolingaluet are inclosed in a cvlimlrical vessel U. through which can flow the cooling liquid which enters by the pipe 7 and leaves by the pipe` S. An outlet 9 iS provided for Steam or vapor. The ves sel t3 is surrounded hy a coil I() which Serves for producing a latrong magnetic Held. Ex-

tending upwardly into the reaction-eliamher` 1 is the conical end of a concentricall dis:- posed. axially displaceahle electrore 12 which is provided with n Cooling device. The free end,of' this electrode is in close proximity to the annular edge 13. The gap letween the electrode 12 and the edge 13 om he varied by vertically displacing the electrode l2, and is made of Such a width that, at each reversal ot' the current, reignition occlnxsI at the place where the electrode l2 and the edge 13 are closest. When the furnace is in operation, the hightension llame at the moment of its formation is 'forced toward the free end of the central electrode owing to the very high speed (50 and 100 m. and more per second) at which the gases flow between the central electrode 1'2 and the edge 13 in close, proximity there.- with, and is simultaneously set rotating under the influence of the strong magnetic lield. At the very inonjient at which the i'orni of the flame hcgiusto assume that ot' au are, that component of the electro-magnctic force is formed which tends to set` the level of the are instantly at right angles to the magnetic lilies of force, and which compels the outer end of the flame to travel quickly from the lower closure plate of the furnace to the periphery thereof. Owing to the simultaneous action of these two factors, after cach alterA nation the fianic is considerably lcngthcncd in a wry short time compared n ith thc period of one alternation Ixf the current. and this enahles the furnace .o he more highly loaded. By suitably choosing the diameter of the central electrodo the area oi' tlnl passage at the level of the ignition cdgc can lic made such that with a given supply of gas the desired high velocity of ilow ot the gases is obtained in this passage.

For the regular operation of the furnace it is very impm'tant that the ignition of the flame following each reversal of the current shall take. place only in the annular gap for ignition. Conserpiently, the electrical disruptive strength of the gaseous dielectric at the moment of each ignition of the flame between `the ignition edge 13 and the central electrode should he smaller than the disruptive strength of this dielectric at another place, c. g., at the place where there are ionized traces of the extinct flame. The conical form of the middle electrode while permitting the distance of the electrode from the ignition edge to he regulated` within wide limits, enables the above-named requirements to he very readily satisfied.

ln the embodiments illustrated in Fig. 3 the reaction-chamber 1 is located between two magnet-poles 14, 15, which produce a very strong magnetic field. Owing to the central opening b in the pole 15, ther mag-y netic lines diverge in the lower portion of the reaction-ehamher and at the place where the flame is ignited. Consequently, the outer end of the flame is more quickly driven to the periphery than in the furnace illustrated in Fig, 1.

lf the voltage employed for the furnace is comparatively low and the ignition-gap therefore narrow. and if at the\same time the energy expended in the furnace is large, in order to he ahle to supply sullicient gas to the flame it is necessary to introduce it at. a correspondingly higher pressure. To avoid the extra expense in working thus involved, inlets for a portion of the gases can be arranged directly in the reaction-cham ber, whereby only a portion of the gases passes through the. gap. This is not, however, a very satisfactory mode of operation.

lt is preferable. to maintain the width of the annular gap and simultaneously to en* large the area of the passage therethrough by giving this gap a larger diameter. lf required, this diameter 'an he increased to such an extent that the outer electrode, instead ot" being narrowed, forms the ignition edge. if, as in the embodiment shown in Fig'. 5, the diana-.ter of the inner electrode l2 is large as compared with the diameter of the reactiona'hamber 1 which is here arranged below thc electrode for a reason hereinafter explained. the inner electrode will have an active Vface which rises only slightly in the middle. in order that after cach reversal oi' the current small `disphu'ements oi' the llame in the direction of its axis of rotation may eausc considerable inrcascs in the length of the track swept by thc ihnuc, and the latter therefore obtains a very great length as quickly as possible.

instead of obtaining the necessary increase in the arca of the passage vfor the gases hy increasing the. diameter of the rin". the annular cdve 1.3 may have uni formly distributed indentations 18, as shown in Figs. ti and 't'. 'lhe inner electrode may also have indcntations nniforxnly distributed around it. Since they uniform supply of the gases is not impaired by the indentations and grooves, this mode of obtaining an increased area of passage has much in its 100 favor. When a uniform supply of gas is not so important, the diameter of the anv nular edge can he made somewhat greater and the inner electrode arranged eccentrically within it (Figs. 8 and9). Both when 10.5 employing iudentations or grooves in the annular edge and outer electrode, and when arranging the inner electrode eecentrically, it is important to make the Ias-pressure 1n the gap such that even at the narrowest por- 11o tion of the latter the velocity is sniiicient instantly to drive the flame in the axial direction.

ln the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the ignition edge 13 of the furnace is carried 115 hy an exchangeable member, which is fastened in place by a ring 16 and has an inlet and an outlet for the cooling liquid. Consequently, that part of the outer electrode which is exposed to th greatest wear 12o can be exchanged.

In furnaces working with a comparatively low voltage and consequently requiring a very small distance between t e annular ignition edge. and the central electrode, it is 125 preferable to invert the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 3, i. e. to arrange the apparatus as in Figs. 5. 6 and 8, wherein the supply chamber is located above the reactionehamlier and the gases flow downward 13o through the flame. lt is thereby avoided that the metallic oxid which forms can eventually fall into the gap between the central electrode and the ignition edge and so ,ause irregularities in working.

l claim z- 1. An electric furnace for the treatment of gases and vapors, in which furnace a high-tension alternating-current tiame rotates under the inHuence of a magnetic field of force, said furnace having an outer electrode within which is inelosed the reaction chamber; an inner electrode that projects thereinto, the interval between said electrodes measured in the direction ot' the flow of the gas increasing very rapidly; the inner electrode being arranged free to be shifted and to he adjusted relatively to the outer electrode in such manner that the ignitionring remaining free between the` electrodes can be adjusted exactly to the tension of the working current so as to be able first to generate the flame at said ring at every current reversal and then` under the intluence of the powerful magnetic field and the great velocity of the gases. to draw the iame out to a great length and absolutely within a small fraction of the period of a single alternation.

2. An electric furnace for the treatment ot' gases and vapors-` in which furnace a high-tension. alternating-current flame rotates under the influence ol` a magnetic lield of force. ,said furnace having an outer electrode within which is inelosed the reaction chamber; an inner electrode that projects thereinto; the interval between said eleetrodes measured in the direction of ilow of the gases increasing very rapidly and one of the electrodes being formed with indentations in order. in ease the inner electrode is of small diameter, to furnish a sutiieient passage-eross-section for the gases in spite of the small breadth of gap: the inner electrodes heilig arranged 'free to be shifted and to be adjusted relatively to the outer electrode in such manner that the ignition ring remaining free between the electrodes can-he adjusted exactly to the tension of the working current so as to be able tirst to generate the tiame at said ring al every current reversal and then. under the inllnenre ol' the powerful magnetic ield and the great velocity of the gases. to draw the llame out to a great length and abf-ollitel}7 within a .small fraction ot' the period of a single alternation.

3. An eleetrisA l'urnare t'or the treatment ot' gases and vapors. in which furnace a high-tension. alternatingcurrent Haine rotates under the intluencc of a magnetic field of force, said furnace having an outer electrode within which is inclosed the reaction chamber; an inner electrode that projects thereinto and is arranged eccentrically to the outer electrode, the interval between said electrodes measured in the direction of flow of the gases increasing very rapidly; the inner electrode being arranged free to he shifted and to be adjusted relatively to the outer electrode in such manner that the ignition-ring remaining free between the electrodes can be adjusted exactly to the tension of the working current so as to be able l'irst to generate the flame at said ring at every current reversal and then. under the intiuenee of the powerful magnetic field and the great velocity of the gases, to draw the flame out to a great length and absolutely within a small fraction of the period of a single alternation.

L An electric furnace for the treatment of gases and vapors. in which furnace a' high-tension, alternating-current tiame rotates under the intiuence of a magnetic field of force. said furnace having an outer electrode within which is inelosed the reaction chamber; an inner electrode that projects thereinto; a hollow ring which is detachably fastened to the outer electrode so as to be readily exchangeable and is provided with an ignitiolredge inclined tovard the inner electrode and is arranged or the passage of a cooling medium: the interval between said electrodes measured in the direction of flow of the gases increasing very rapidly; the inner` electrode being arranged free to be shifted and to be adjusted relatively to theouter electrode in such manner that the ignitiou-ring remaining free between the electrodes can be adjusted exactly to the tension of the working current so as to be able first to generate the llame at said ring at every current reversal and then, under the influence of the powerful magnetic field and the great velocity ot' the gases, to draw the llame out to a great length and absolutely within a small traction of the period of a single alternation.

In testimony whereof, T altix my signature in the presence ot' two witnesses.

I'GNCY MOSIKI.

lVitnesscs llis'r. 70cm, AUGns'r Fumane. 

